Process of extracting sucrose.



G. ROSENOW.

PROCESS OF EXTRAGTING SUGROSE.

APPLIUATION FILED APBNM, 1910.

' Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

Invenfor Wifn 25sec ms NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON; n. c.

IINITED STATES PATENT UFFEQE.

CURT ROSENOW, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

. PROCESS OF EXTRACTING SUCROSE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CURT ROSENOW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of ExtractingSucrose, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a process for extracting sucrose from sugar caneby means of crushing combined with maceration and my object is toprovide a process with a view of improving the heretofore knownprocesses as they have been applied in the extraction of sucrose fromsugar cane.

At present it is common practice to mill and grind sugar cane by passingit through a plurality of mills. Ground or crushed sugar cane is calledbagasse. It is also common practice to subject the bagasse to macerationfor the purpose of thinning the juice contained therein and reducing theresidual loss. This step in the process is introduced at a point betweenthe last two mills of the operating series, the major portion of thejuice having been extracted prior to that time. It is universalexperience that subj ecting bagasse to maceration renders it very stickyand slippery, and difficult to pass through the final mill withoutchoking the same, and furthermore it renders necessary the evaporationof very large quantities of water.

It is the purpose of my invention to add to the commonly used steps forextracting sucrose from sugar cane a new step with the purpose ofobviating the slippery condition of the bagasse after maceration so thatit will readily pass through the final mill without choking it; toextract the largest possible amount of the sugar contained in the cane,and to reduce to a minimum the amount of water it is necessary toevaporate. This new step is the removal from the macerated bagasse of aportion of its juice, which is poorer in sugar content than the juiceremaining in the macerated bagasse.

In the drawing, the figure is a side elevation intended to show in adiagrammatic manner, an arrangement of machine parts that might beemployed for carrying out my process.

1 G is a conveyer or carrier, similar to M and N. It is driven by pulleyH and delivers the bagasse from a previous grinding mill or mills to themill A. The bagasse Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 23, 1910.

Serial No. 557,201.

passes through mill A, where it is subjected to heavy pressure by meansof which some of the juice is extracted and falls into juicepan D. Withthis juice we have no further concern. It will enter the process ofmanufacture jointly with the juices of any preceding mills. After thebagasse has passed through mill A it falls on carrier M, driven bypulleys P and Q. At this stage it is subjected to maceration, 2'. 6.water is sprinkled on it through perforations V, of pipe L. Carrier Mconducts the macerated bagasse to the light pressure rollers B. Inpassing between these rollers the bagasse is subj ected to lightpressure which expresses from it surplus water and very thin juices.This falls into juicepan E. From E pump T takes these thin juices bymeans of suction pipe U and pumps them through discharge pipe K into theopen trough I. The thin juices overflow this trough and fall on thebagasse emerging from A. That is, they are used for maceration jointlywith the water. The bagasse emerging from the rollers B falls on thecarrier N driven by pulleys R and S and is carried to the final grindingmill O. In passing through C the bagasse is again subjected to veryheavy pressure with the object of extracting from it as much as possibleof the remaining juices. These juices fall into juice pan F, from wherethey are conducted into a common receptacletogether with the juices fromA, and any preceding grinding mills for the purpose of elaboration intosugar. The bagasse emerging from C is conducted to the furnaces of theboiler plant and is used as fuel. During the process as described therewill be a tendency of the very thin juices expressed at B to increase insugar content approaching a certain limit. This limiting sugar contentwill depend on circumstances but will always be less than that of thejuices expressed by C. It may there fore be necessary to interrupt,perodically and for a brief period, the use of the thin juices formaceration. Means for doing this are not shown in the diagram as it isnot a necessary part of the process.

l/Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane,which consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, then, at this par-Patented Apr. 18, 1911. i

ticular stage of the process, extracting from the macerated bagasse aportion of its juice, which is poorer in sugar content than the juiceremaining in the macerated bagasse, and in finally grinding the bagasseso treated in another mill in order to extract therefrom as much of theremaining juice as possible, substantially as described.

2. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane,which consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, insubjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, then, at thisparticular stage of the process, extracting from the macerated bagasse aportion of its juice which is poorer in sugar content than the juiceremaining in the macerated bagasse, and in using and reusing the thusextracted thin juice for new maceration, and in finally grinding thebagasse so treated in another mill in order to extract therefrom as muchof the remaining juice as possible, substantially as described.

3. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane,which consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, in then, at thisparticular stage of the process, extracting by very light pressure or byother means, from the macerated bagasse, a portion of its juice which ispoorer in sugar content than the juice remaining in the maceratedbagasse, and in finally grinding the bagasse so treated in another millin order to extract therefrom as much of the remaining juice aspossible, substantially as described.

4. The herein described process of extracting-sucrose'from sugar cane,which consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, in then, at thisparticular stage of the process, extracting by very light pressure, orby other means from the macerated bagasse, a portion of its juice whichis poorer in sugar content than the juice remaining in the maceratedbagasse and in using and reusing the thus extracted thin j nice for newmaceration, and in finally grinding the bagasse, so treated, in anothermill in order to extract therefrom as much of the remaining juice aspossible, substantially as described.

5. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane,which consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, in then, at thisparticular stage of the process, removing from the macerated bagasse theslippery, spongy character it has acquired, and in finally grinding thebagasse so treated in another mill in order to extract therefrom as muchof the remaining juice as possible, substantially as described.

6. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar canewhich consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground toimmersion or to maceration, in then, at thisparticular stage of the process, removing from the macerated bagasse, bymeans of very light pressure or by other means, the slippery, spongycharacter it has acquired, and in finally grinding the bagasse sotreated in another mill in order to extract therefrom as much of theremaining juice as possible, substantially as described.

7 The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane,which consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, in then, at thisparticular stage of the process, extracting by means of light pressureor by other means, from the macerated bagasse a portion of its juicewhich is poorer-in sugar content than the juice remaining in themacerated bagasse, thereby removing from the' macerated bagasse, theslippery and spongy character it has acquired, and in finally grindingthe bagasse so treated in another mill, in order to extract therefrom asmuch of the remaining juice as possible, substantially as described.

8. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar canewhich consists in grinding the cane in one or more mills, in subjectingthe bagasse so ground to immersion or to maceration, in then, at thisparticular stage of the process, extracting by means of light pressureor by other means, from the macerated bagasse a portion of its juice,which is poorer in sugar content than the juice remaining in themacerated bagasse, thereby removing from the macerated bagasse theslippery and spongy character it has acquired, and of using and reusingthe thus extracted thin juice for new maceration and in finally grindingthe bagasse so treated in another mill, in order to extract therefrom asmuch of the remaining juice as possible, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GURT ROSENOW.

lVitnesses MARY E. Connors, FLORIDA C. GROBLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

